...see the jungle when it's wet with rain

Finally, I am able to write about the namesake of this blog. The lines "Fly the ocean in a silver plane, see the jungle when it's wet with rain" are from the song You Belong to Me, and those were the first words that came into my head when I found out I was going to Costa Rica.In a week's time, I will actually be in the jungle! It's something I've always wanted to experience and once I knew I was going I set up this blog to keep in touch while I'm going to be away.

I will be spending 6 months in Costa Rica, staying in a remote camp on the Osa Peninsula. I will be working as an assistant research officer with Frontier, training volunteers and participating in biodiversity surveys, a forest replanting project and turtle patrols along the beach. There's no signal on camp and I can only access the internet when I can get into the town so communication will be limited. But everyone please feel free to comment on here, whether its related to my posts or just to say hi!

In the past week I've started my packing and saying goodbye to people, but it still doesn't quite feel real. Packing for 6 months is a challenge, especially when I have to consider clothes as pretty much unessential (I guess its more important to have a sleeping bag, mosquito net, first aid kit...). I tried to weigh my bag yesterday but couldn't actually fit everything in!!! Although I feel like I'll want to look nice sometimes and don't want to spend 6 months in the same 3 t-shirts, I'm sure I'll grow used to it. I have to admit I'm expecting to come home and not know how to cope with all the STUFF I own! My friends say I'm going to come back a hippie who doesn't know how to sleep in a bed or wash anywhere other than a stream.

The excitement is beginning to build for me. I'm fortunate so have met a fellow ARO going at the same time as me who I will meet as soon as I get to San Jose. We'll spend a day in the capital together then head off to camp. I'm most excited about seeing the rainforest and all the amazing wildlife I get to be surrounded by 24/7. I will blog as often as I can, but who knows how much that will actually be!

Wish me luck x